Indonesia\u2019s Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang\nKartasasmita is encouraging the diversification of Indonesia\u2019s steel\nexport markets by targeting the Middle East region and developing\nindustrial countries, to reduce dependence on a single primary\ndestination and strengthen national industry resilience.<\/p>\n
The Minister, met in Jakarta on Friday, stated that Indonesia\u2019s steel\nexports are currently concentrated in China. He assessed this situation\nas risky if economic disruptions occur in the main destination\ncountry.<\/p>\n
He explained that when dependence on one market is too high,\npotential economic turbulence in that country can directly impact the\nperformance of the national steel industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I am concerned about our export destination country\u2019s dependence\non one country. When that happens, if we assume that country experiences\nturmoil or economic problems, it will certainly affect our steel\nindustry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
However, Indonesia must still anticipate future risks if slowdowns or\neconomic disruptions occur in that country, which could pressure\nnational steel exports.<\/p>\n
As an alternative, the government sees export opportunities to the\nMiddle East region, which is considered to have a large demand for steel\nproducts, especially for infrastructure reconstruction and industrial\nfacilities such as refineries.<\/p>\n
In addition, countries with underdeveloped steel industry bases are\nalso seen as potential new markets for Indonesian exports.<\/p>\n
In terms of performance, Indonesia\u2019s steel product exports in 2025\nare still dominated by five main markets, namely China, Taiwan, India,\nVietnam, and Italy, from a total national steel export value of around\nUS$29.7 billion.<\/p>\n
China is the largest destination with a value of more than US$17.9\nbillion, followed by Taiwan at around US$1.8 billion, India US$1.6\nbillion, Vietnam US$864 million, and Italy US$777 million.<\/p>\n
According to him, this achievement positions Indonesia as one of the\nlargest steel exporters in Southeast Asia, reflecting the\ncompetitiveness of national steel products in regional and global\nmarkets.<\/p>\n
However, if ferronickel commodities are excluded from the\ncalculation, the trade balance actually shows a deficit. In 2025, the\ndeficit is recorded at around 3.7 million tonnes, with imports reaching\n16.07 million tonnes and exports only 12.3 million tonnes. These imports\nare dominated by raw materials, accounting for 86% of the total\nvolume.<\/p>\n
This situation underscores that the challenges of the national steel\nindustry lie not only in increasing production capacity but also in\nstrengthening intermediate and downstream sectors with higher technical\nspecifications.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, amid global pressures, the steel industry also faces\nexcess world production capacity. OECD projections indicate that by\n2027, global steel production capacity is estimated to reach 2,637\nmillion tonnes, while demand is only around 1,916 million tonnes,\nresulting in excess capacity of nearly 38%.<\/p>\n
Domestically, challenges also come from the influx of prefabricated\nsteel, potential policy circumvention practices, and the need to\nstrengthen industry protection instruments from upstream to\ndownstream.<\/p>\n
In response to these various challenges, the Ministry of Industry is\npreparing several strategies, including strengthening trade remedy\ninstruments, consistent implementation of Indonesian National Standards\n(SNI), accelerating transformation towards green steel, increasing\nupstream sector investments, and deepening integrated downstream\nintegration with strategic sectors such as shipping, automotive, and\ninfrastructure.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/industry-minister-diversifies-indonesias-steel-exports-targets-middle-east-region-1775807456", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }